I am new to the site. My wife and I made the difficult decision to euthanize our beloved GSP, Coco, this past September. We vowed that there would be no new dogs as this has been the most painful experience of our lives. Coco was a constant in our lives for over 15 years. We understand how fortunate we were to have her for so long, but as I'm sure all of you know, it is never long enough. I had always wanted a GSP since I was a boy, and thought that I was getting a great hunting dog. What I got was so much more than that. I got the best friend that anyone could ever hope for. I thought I wanted to go hunting for the enjoyment of shooting birds, but quickly found that I didn't care about shooting birds at all. The best part was watching how much Coco loved what she was doing. I let everyone else do the shooting. I just wanted to watch Coco. Though I have had more invitations to hunt than I can count, I have not gone since her passing. We have slowly realized how empty our house and our lives are without her, and are starting to consider a new pup. Still not sure yet, but at least it is in our minds.

This is a large part of why I keep 2 dogs. I never want to be in the position of feeling like I'm replacing a friend. 15 years is a long time. How many human friends have you had for that long and spent that much time with?? The loss of a dog is the loss of a best friend. Many people underestimate and under appreciate the level of grief and time needed to cope. You are not replacing your friend, just adding another to what a lucky human will have in a long series of canine companions.

The hardest part of going from Senior dog to pup was readjusting to the energy level and constant attention. I remember wishing it was a year later on many occasions because the puppy stage is just not my favorite part of having a dog.

I did it 4 yrs. ago after the loss of 2 of my best friends in 2 yrs . While I agree with Misskiwi about the puppy stage , It has been a great journey with my PP , Duchess . I don't think I have had a Dog with more personality than she has . I don't think you should go with the same breed though . You will be comparing and I believe this would put the new pup in a tough position trying to live up to your memories .

Try and think of it as gaining a new friend ...

If You Can't be a Good Example then You will just have to Serve as a Horrible Warning

Just read your post. I know how painful it is and I am sorry for your loss. My current dog is 12 and it hurts to think about what lies ahead. I had his grandfather til age 16. I was not ready to get a pup after he was gone and waited a year. I was excited and ready then, which is for the best because a pup is really high maintenance after so many years enjoying the luxury of a trained adult dog. Heal up, and know you have a lot of folks who understand your pain and loss. You will know when you are ready for a pup.

My first was a GSP... back when I was much, much younger. Maybe it was being young enough to realize that there *might* be other dogs in the world that were at least 'okay', but I thought he was the greatest pup ever. Forty odd years ago and I recall times with him like yesterday, if with a bit of blurring of sight, it's always with a fond smile. I worried about getting another Shorthair because of the fear of comparison and short changing the new pup. When life got settled down enough for another dog I didn't run across a GSP that really thrilled me, but I did run across the Longhair. Twice I've had those. Both males, both gut-wrenching to send off ahead down the Road to Tinkhamtown. This last July was when I put the last of these two down. A great hearted lunk he was. Composure wasn't to be found in the vet's office that day as he'd adopted all of those folks long since. Not many have dogs that love to go to the vet, but he was one.

I thought I was done then. I stumbled along for months in a much too quiet house, food and water pans waiting in the kitchen. Halloween came and I left the light off as I had no more 96 pound slurp dispenser to Trick along with the Treats. That lug loved Halloween. Anyway, I was surfing one day, thinking of dogs, thinking some pictures would help. They couldn't hurt anyway. I chuckled at some cuteness, laughed at some dog stories and would go on to other stuff. The next night or two, maybe again. I ran across a very nicely done website of a breeder, they had a very nice history of prior litters with test and exam reports. That was something I thought needed a little positive reinforcement so I dropped an email of appreciation. Well, we emailed back and forth a little bit. Talked some of dogs. Maybe my dotage is catching up to me, but off in the corner of my eye I'd have sworn there were three familiar shapes sitting there watching me. Kinda got me wondering a little bit if dog ghosts exist, or if I need a little more de-caff.

The breeder sent an email not long after, mentioning they had one spot open on their reserve list.. *gulp* I have to admit my hand was shaking a little when I signed that deposit check. This time, a little hellschimmel bitch pup was what I opted for, but I was 8th on that list. More time passed... they whelped the end of December. Two male, six female with five of the lasses being hellschimmel. Two of those were looking like choices to me, oddly the breeder was looking at that pair with me in mind too.

I spent a lot of time looking over video and pics, going over emails.. New pics came available and I came to a full stop looking at one of the two. Again, maybe a call for de-caff, but it felt like some small pack was jockeying for a better look from behind the chair. You'd think they could float or something?!

So Sunday, it is time to get fingers and ears together. Maybe I'm past my 'Best by date', have too much imagination or caffeine, but I can't help but think the peanut gallery is going to enjoy this. Don't know if you can hold a seance to scold a ghost or not... but there's a few tricks from those boys that this pup had better not learn!

An option for everyone? Well, maybe, maybe no. If you aren't sure, just don't *mention* the ghost parts. Another pup?